There’s this funny sentence:
Finished files are the result of years of scientific study combined with the experience of many years of experts.
Read it. Learn it. Take a few minutes.
Tik.
Tok.
Tik.
Tok.
Tik.
Tok.
Tik.
Tok.
Tik.
Tok.
Tik.
Tok.
Tik.
Ok. Done.
Here it is again:
Finished files are the result of years of scientific study combined with the experience of many years of experts.
Now count the number of “f” letters inside the sentence.
And give your best answer.
Tik.
Tok.
Tik.
Tok.
Tik.
Tok.
Tik.
Tok.
Tik.
Tok.
Tik.
Tok.
Tik.
Ok. Done.
Was it three?
Was it seven?
Was it something else?
Funny but true, there are more people who answer three than seven, although only the latter is correct.
The title of this funny post is “Jumping to Conclusions”. The reason for not answering “seven” in most cases is the complete ignorance of the words “of” and the “f”s inside them.
The lesson here is that our brains rush ahead and jump to a conclusion without properly observing all the details. Our brains are pattern recognition machines and as soon a pattern is sensed the brains single it out. The problem herein is that more often than not important details are missing in the recognised solution.
This very same problem is at the core of many misunderstandings between people. Let’s say a beautiful woman came to visit me in my hotel and I invited her up to my room. She agreed and there we went. In the room she took a glass of water, we talked, and then came back to the lobby. To the observer who was not in the room the likeliest explanation of what just happened was that we went to the room to have sex. It even does not matter whether we did or didn’t, it’s just that everything implied we did. But the truth is known to me and her only. Unless we talk about it post festum, however this is a post-explanation already and not a part of the very event or non-event in the hotel room.
Of course, the problem with “Jumping to Conclusions” is both a vice and a blessing. It’s a vice in the cases of tragedy, one prime example being Romeo’s suicide upon seeing Juliet dead and not knowing that her seeming death is just a potion induced sleep. It is also a blessing because of love. Love is seeing some facts about a person and filling the gaps in between into a glorified story.
(F)inished (F)iles are the result o(F) years o(F) scienti(F)ic study combined with the experience o(F) many years o(F) experts.